Posted by By Victor Ogbonnaya on
A businessman, who was shot along the Asaba-Benin Road, has fired a salvo of accusations at some soldiers that opened fire on his car at a checkpoint.
A businessman, who was shot along the Asaba-Benin Road, has fired a salvo of accusations at some soldiers that opened fire on his car at a checkpoint.
When he was attacked, Chief Ezechukwu Obiorah, an importer of telecommunications equipment, was travelling with members of his family including his wife and baby, who were also shot.
He told Daily Sun that 26 bullets were fired into his Montero Jeep by the soldiers, who called him a robber.
Chief Obiorah's wife, Ify, told Daily Sun that her husband's car had passed over 18 road blocks between Asaba and Benin before it got to the army checkpoint - the third within a distance of about 30 to 50 meters.
She said: "They ordered us to stop and immediately my husband stopped and was winding down, the men started hitting him, shouting and calling him armed robber, thief and all sorts of names. With this unprovoked physical assault and state of confusion and suspicion that the men might be armed robbers, my husband tried to engage the gear and the next thing we knew was a barrage of bullets hitting us in the process seriously injuring my husband, myself and our three-year-old daughter and 18-year-old sister-in-law.
"They did not stop at that, they ransacked our vehicle, carted away valuables, including cash, (local and foreign currencies), four mobile phone handsets of various makes, two walkie-talkie units, Sony Digital video camera which my husband bought overseas, and many other items which we cannot immediately know if they are missing.
"My three-month-old daughter was hit by the bullet and to worsen the situation, the soldiers, whom we suspected might be hired assassins, stopped passers-by from assisting us, threatening to shoot anyone who dared to help us until this God-sent elderly man going to Benin saw what was happening and stopped to challenge the soldiers, threatening to report the matter to their Brigade Commander whom he called by name. It was this that made them to leave with their loot and enabled the man, with the help of the policemen at the other checkpoint who had watched helplessly, to now come to our rescue. We were taken to an hospital in Benin."
She disclosed that following the seriousness of the injuries sustained by her husband, the local surgeons decided to fly him abroad for specialist attention while on their own part a hospital in Onitsha handled the surgical operations extracting the bullets in her neck and those lodged in the buttocks of her three-month-old baby.
When Daily Sun contacted the victim's lawyers, the head of the chambers, Barrister John Okonkwo, confirming the incident, said:"A formal petition has been written to the Army authorities precisely the Brigade Commander, 4 Nigerian Army Brigade Headquarters, Benin City, Edo State since January 18, 2005. And it is our firm belief that they would expedite action on the matter to ensure that those involved are brought to book".
Investigations carried out by Daily Sun correspondent traced the bullet-ridden Montero Jeep to Ikpoba Hill Police station in Benin City where the case equally has been incidented.